1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a system and a method for completing a financial transaction using a wireless communication device. In particular, the present invention relates to wirelessly receiving a numeric message or bar code on a wireless communication device from an issuer representing a surrogate account number for one-time use by a merchant to process a point-of-sale or point-of-service (collectively “POS”) purchase. A computer program product allowing implementation of the system and method is also provided.
2. Related Art
Consumers often use financial transaction instruments as convenient forms of payment for purchases of goods and/or services (“goods/services”) instead of using cash or checks. Traditionally, a financial transaction instrument is embodied as a card-shaped device, also referred to herein as a “card,” and may be any of the following: a traditional “plastic” transaction card (e.g., a credit card, a charge card, a debit card, a pre-paid or stored-value card, or the like); a titanium-containing, or other metal-containing, transaction card; a clear or translucent transaction card; a foldable or otherwise unconventionally-sized transaction card; or any other type of card used in connection with a financial transaction.
It is common for financial transaction instruments to be shaped as cards that fit in a wallet, to make them convenient for consumers to carry one or more when traveling or performing day-to-day activities outside their homes. Many consumers regularly carry several such cards at a time, with each card corresponding to a different financial transaction account. This sometimes causes a great deal of inconvenience, especially when each of the several cards must be searched in order to find a particular card to be used for a financial transaction (e.g., when a merchant only accepts an American Express® card for the transaction). Also, when a consumer carries several cards at a time, the consumer may misplace or lose one of the cards and not become aware of the missing card until the next time the card is to be used, which may not be for days or weeks or longer. If it turns out that the missing card was stolen and then used for fraudulent purchases, both the card issuer and the consumer can suffer monetary losses. Therefore, there is a need for a convenient way for consumers to make purchases that does not require the use of a card.
More recently, new types of financial transaction instruments, configured with electronic functionality, have become popular. Electronic circuitry is printed on or otherwise incorporated within these instruments for implementing financial transactions. One such instrument is a contactless transaction card, sometimes referred to as a “smart card.” Contactless transaction cards may be equipped with electronic circuitry for wirelessly communicating data to and/or reading data from a card reader/writer, which reads data from or transfers data to such transaction cards. The wireless communication of data may occur via an electromagnetic transmission or other type of wireless transmission. Contactless transactions cards, however, present inconveniences and drawbacks similar to those of other cards, as discussed above. Another such instrument is a fob-type device shaped to dangle from a keychain, in which a wireless transponder and reader are incorporated in the device. Fob-type devices, however, tend to be bulky. Therefore, if a consumer carries several such devices on a keychain, it may be uncomfortable and/or unsightly for the consumer to keep the keychain in a clothing pocket, or it may require the consumer to use a larger handbag than otherwise would be necessary. Of course, if the several fob-devices are carried around loosely rather than on a single keychain, then a similar drawback occurs as with cards. That is, a consumer may not become aware of a misplaced or lost device until the next time the device is to be used, which may not be for days or weeks or longer, and which may cause economic losses for the consumer and/or the device issuer if it turns out that the missing device was stolen and then used for fraudulent purchases. Therefore, there is a need for a convenient way for consumers to make purchases that does not require the use of a fob-type device.
As used herein, a “financial transaction account,” also referred to herein as a “transaction account,” may be a bank account, a credit account, or the like. For example, a bank account may be a savings account, a checking account, a money-market account, or the like; and a credit account may be a transaction account associated with a pre-approved line of credit.
Also, as used herein, the term “merchant” refers to any person, entity, distributor system, software, and/or hardware that is a provider or broker of goods/services, and includes any other entity in the distribution chain of goods/services. For example, a typical merchant may be a grocery store, a retail store, a travel agency, a service provider, a public-service utility, a school, a library, an on-line merchant, a government agency, or the like.
Also, as used herein, the terms “consumers,” “customers,” and “users” may be used interchangeably to refer to persons who purchase goods/services from merchants.
In regard to use of a financial transaction account, a consumer may communicate or interact with a traditional merchant in person (e.g., at a store), telephonically, or electronically (e.g., from a computer via the Internet). During the interaction, the merchant may offer good/services to the customer. The merchant also may offer the customer an option to pay for the goods/services using any number of available transaction accounts via their corresponding financial transaction instruments.
With regard to use of a transaction account, users may communicate with merchants in person (e.g., at the box office), telephonically, or electronically (e.g., from a user computer via the Internet). During the interaction, the merchant may offer goods and/or services to the user. The merchant may also offer the user the option of paying for the goods and/or services using any number of available transaction accounts. Furthermore, the transaction accounts may be used by the merchant as a form of identification of the user. The merchant may have a computing unit implemented in the form of a computer-server, although other implementations are possible.
In general, transaction accounts may be used for transactions between the user and merchant through any suitable communication device, such as the following: a telephone network; an intranet; the global, public Internet; a point of interaction device (e.g., a point of sale (POS) device, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone, kiosk, etc.); online communications; off-line communications; wireless communications; and/or the like.
An “account,” “account number,” or “account code”, as used herein, may include any device, code, number, letter, symbol, digital certificate, smart chip, digital signal, analog signal, biometric, or other identifier/indicia suitably configured to allow a consumer to access, interact with, or communicate with a financial transaction system. The account number may optionally be located on or associated with any financial transaction instrument (e.g., a rewards, charge, credit, debit, prepaid, telephone, embossed, smart, magnetic stripe, bar code, transponder, or radio frequency card).
The account number may be distributed and stored in any form of plastic, electronic, magnetic, radio frequency (RF), wireless, audio, and/or optical device capable of transmitting or downloading data from itself to a second device. A customer account number may be, for example, a sixteen-digit credit card number. Each credit card issuer has its own numbering system, such as the fifteen-digit numbering system used by American Express Company of New York, N.Y. Each issuer's credit card numbers comply with that company's standardized format such that an issuer using a sixteen-digit format will generally use four spaced sets of numbers in the form of:N1N2N3N4 N5N6N7N8 N9N10N11N12 N13N14N15N16 
The first five to seven digits are reserved for processing purposes and identify the issuing institution, card type, and so on. In this example, the last (sixteenth) digit is typically used as a sum check for the sixteen-digit number. The intermediary eight-to-ten digits are used to uniquely identify the customer, cardholder, or card member.
For credit cards, the account number is generally displayed on the face of the cards. The expiry date is also oftentimes shown on the face of a card. Card verification value codes (“CVV”) or card verification numbers generally are printed on the back of credit cards to reduce fraudulent use of these account numbers. However, these card verification numbers are also visible.
As used herein, “surrogate account number” represents a number generated by the issuer for a particular a financial transaction. The surrogate account number contains the information necessary to complete a financial transaction, such as a POS purchase, and can include information identifying, for example, the account, account holder name, issuer, acquiring bank, and expiry date. Information contained in the surrogate account number can also relate to information conventionally stored in the magnetic strip of a credit card, for example, country codes, discretionary data, longitudinal redundancy checks, separators, format codes, currency, type, check digit, etc.
Generally, a traditional merchant that wants to provide customers with the option to pay for goods/services with a particular type of financial transaction instrument will enter into an agreement with the issuer of that type of instrument (e.g., American Express®, Visa®, Discover®, MasterCard®, or the like). The issuer typically is a financial organization or institution (e.g., American Express®, JPMorgan Chase, MBNA®, Citibank®, or the like).
As used herein, “issuer” can also represent a financial institution that provides the financial transaction instrument to an individual, also referred to herein as an “account holder.” Oftentimes, the “account holders” are the same as the “consumers,” “customers” or “users” referred to above. The issuer can also be an “acquirer,” which can be a financial institution that provides card processing services.
Although financial transaction instruments (e.g., cards and fob-type devices) provide consumers with a convenient way to pay for purchases and also provide traditional merchants with a convenient way to obtain payment for purchases, a user still needs to carry around a physical financial transaction instrument; as such, there is oftentimes a risk of theft and fraud.
Given the foregoing, a need exists for a system that conveniently enables consumers to make a purchase that does not require the use of a card or a fob-type device. Furthermore, there is a need for a system that enables a person to securely completely a financial transaction without exposing the user's actual account number to the public eye reducing the risk of theft and fraud.